As I mentioned earlier I am posting some of the creative work from the new wrdesign site, here is the Sharpie pen illustration. I worked this in the 3D “Revolve” filter from a basic tracing of an actual pen, some minor liberties were taken but the goal was for a true to life representation of the product from within the 3D revolve environment, the logo was applied directly via symbol using the Map Art attribute.

I have just finished a new version of wrsdesign.com, the design is based on the 70’s and features some of the classic tools used by graphic designers at the time, with additional tools of today included. All of the graphic work was created either in Adobe Illustrator CS6 or in CC, featuring the 3D filter effects. I would be pleased if you visit http://wrsdesign.com look it over and give it your comment. I will be featuring some of the art objects from the production separately in future posts.

In this example I demonstrate how simple it is to create complex vector illustration using only Adobe Illustrator. This work was completed in hours, using predominantly basic shape tools. Several more advanced moves were also employed such as: offsetting paths, adding and modifying of anchor points, and “outline stroke”. Gradients were used “almost exclusively” for color. For the Apple text elements I imported a bitmap of the Apple logo “found online”, Image traced it and added the type from fonts available on my computer… matching the original copy as best I could. The whole thing was easy, took only a couple of hours and looks very convincing, Adobe Illustrator made it easy.

This is a piece I created using Illustrator and mostly basic shape tools. I did employ some pen tool tricks “such as” adding and deleting anchor points to create the highlight shapes. The rest of it is created using several effects such as drop shadows, opacity, blur and finally I embedded a bitmap image from Photoshop to fill the open screen area. Photoshop and Illustrator work great together.

Creating a convincing tablet illustration with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

Here is a link to my latest YouTube video, it’s a Camtasia recording from a lesson on using Color in Pantone and CMYK Production. The Application is Adobe Illustrator, and the total production runs almost 20 minutes. I hope you enjoy it and will take the time to look over my other YouTube videos.

I love the 3D filters in Illustrator unlike Photoshop which seem more difficult to handle, Illustrator 3D filters are incredibly smoother and easier add, they are resolution independent and I think you will quickly figure out why it is better to use them over Photoshop 3D. I have selected a few of my latest pieces for you to review. Check them out:

Lincoln Tech PDA Illustration.

Here is an Illustration that really has nothing to do with 3D filters but it is a good starting point, Illustrator creates great Illustration as well.